Your hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Booker T. Is that Judah Friedlander behind them? Looks JUST like him if it isn’t.

John Laurinaitis comes out and informs us that he is celebrating his tenth anniversary here at the WWE, which explains why the Cenas and the Batistas and the Ortons that came about in that class of 2002.

WWE U.S. Champion Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) vs. John Morrison

Ziggler is working DOUBLE-DUTY again tonight. The Zack Ryder chants start up at the bell. Ziggler is all awesome super cocky to start, but Morrison comes back with a catapult and hits a corkscrew plancha on the floor. On the way back in, Ziggler grabs Morrison for a swinging neckbreaker. The Ryder chants continue. Morrison fights out of a crossface, but misses a corner charge and takes an inverted powerslam for two. Here comes the Morrison comeback. Flying Chuck gets 1-2-NO! Whoa, Ziggler changes from a tilt-a-whirl and clamps on the SLEEPER! Morrison breaks loose and delivers his tilt-a-whirl into a DDT. Cover, 1-2-NO! Vickie puts Dolph’s foot on the bottom rope and gets caught by the ref, so she is OUTTA HERE! Series of nearfalls erupt. Flying Chuck misses and there’s the Famouser from Ziggler for 1-2-NO! Morrison still manages to connect with the Running Knee Smash and sets up for STARSHIP PAIN, but he hits knees. ZIG ZAG! So Ziggler retains. (10:44) Vickie heads back down to celebrate with her man until MSG’s demand for Zack Ryder is met as he cleans house on the #HEEL WWE US champ and his less than lovely manager. I’m really hoping for Ryder’s sake that they hold off on this title change until the Royal Rumble or perhaps to give Ziggler something great to do for WrestleMania. ***

WWE Divas Champion Beth Phoenix vs. Eve Torres – Lumberjill Match

Just name a diva – she’s probably at ringside for this one. Eve REALLY wanted that Bootysault. They fight off the ringsiders and Beth stretches Eve on the mat. Eve fights out and flips from the wheel barrow position off into the corner to mount her comeback. Eduardo Carpentier forward senton from Eve connects with knees. GLAM SLAM gets countered to some kind of crazy triangle choke! Beth makes the ropes as they head to the corner. Eve wants the EVESAULT, but Beth does not and decides to finish off Eve with the SUPER GLAM SLAM! Cover by Beth, 1-2-3.(4:34) Huge pop and kudos to Eve for taking that one. That’s pretty much the best spot from the Divas ever? It actually looks worse in the replay though as Eve doesn’t have the facial expressions down just as Jerry Lawler points out that she has a dreaded look on her face. **¼

David Otunga goes over to CM Punk to deliver a message from John Laurinaitis to say that he wants Punk to apologize to Michael Cole for putting his hands on him back on Monday Night Raw BEFORE his title match. Punk says he’ll think about doing that AFTER the title match.

After that, the Rock eats up about eight minutes of airtime basically saying nothing of note, yet gets the biggest reaction of anybody on the WWE roster. That’s really all that matters though.

Ziggler – still feeling cocky as all get out – hops in the ring to face Kingston to start. After some feeling out, Orton tags and drops Ziggler with the RKO for the 1-2-3 at 1:33. Team Barrett goes into a huddle, but Orton has no patience for such. Orton breaks up the meeting of the minds and it’s BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA, folks. Sin Cara and Kofi Kingston attempt STEREO SOMERSAULT PLANCHAS onto Swagger and Hunico. Sin Cara screws his plancha up and hurts himself to the point that he can’t continue to be eliminated at 3:44. Mason Ryan works over Cody Rhodes until Cody chickens out and tags Hunico. In comes Kingston, who is *your* face-in-peril. Hot tag back over to Ryan. A bunch of backbreakers to Hunico leads to a Fallaway Slam. There’s a press slam as well. Blind tag to Cody, he decks Ryan with the Beautiful Disaster and follows up with CROSS RHODES to put Ryan away at 8:51 to a great pop. Sheamus replaces Ryan and just beats the heck out of Cody. Finally, Sheamus takes a dropkick off the apron over on the wrong side of town. Hunico gets a tag, which is the worst idea ever as Sheamus throws him around and tags in Kingston. Boom Drop on Barrett! He fails on TROUBLE IN PARADISE, but rolls up Barrett for two. He keeps on kicking everybody until Barrett puts a stop to it with a Big Boot of his own. WASTELAND gets the three-count at 14:06. That leaves Team Barrett with a 4-on-2 advantage. In comes Orton to take care of bidness. Barrett avoids the draping DDT though and backdrops Orton to the floor. Hunico meets Orton on the floor with a suicide dive. Back in, that gets two. Team Barrett keeps Orton on their half of the ring, but can’t put him away. Hot tag to Sheamus! He goes nuts all over Swagger. He has to clean house on everybody, but that IRISH TEMPER of his gets the best of him as he won’t stop dropping knees on Swagger when he’s in the ropes for the DQ at 18:30. That leaves Orton all alone with four other guys. Swagger eats a BROGUE KICK before Sheamus leaves, which makes him an easy pin for Orton at 19:33. Rhodes puts the boots to Orton in the corner, but there’s the comeback. Hunico tags Rhodes when Orton isn’t looking thanks to Wade Barrett, but springboards into an RKO for the 1-2-3 at 21:38. He catches Barrett with the Inverted Backbreaker. He wants to deliver another RKO, but Rhodes charges him and eats one instead. As Orton stands up, Barrett hoists Orton up for WASTELAND and that’ll do it to give Team Barrett the victory. (22:10)Survivors: Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes. Look at Orton all jobbing again and everything. Another Royal Rumble win in his future? I definitely think so. ***¼

In the back, John Laurinaitis interrupts Alberto Del Rio macking on the Bella twins. He wants to make sure ADR is taking this WWE title match seriously. Del Rio says he’s been attacking CM Punk for weeks, which pretty much means in WWE-style booking code that he’s going to lose at the PPV. ADR even manages to take a jab at the Occupy Wall Streeters. See? WWE is relevant! To prove that they are even more modern, Laurinaitis sends out a text message!

World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry vs. Big Show

The Mark Henry Era of Awesomeness continues. Henry can’t handle the Show to start. However like he’s done since early summer with the Big Show, he goes after the knee. Show fights out with a DDT and mounts his comeback running all over Henry. CHOKESLAM? Nope. Henry blocks and delivers the WORLD’S STRONGEST SLAM! Cover, 1-2-NO! RUNNING SPLASH also only gets two! They go to the floor where Henry avalanches Show through the barricade. Show makes it back inside the ring at the nine count. They tease another superplex, but Show pushes him back and boots Henry down. Show heads to the top and takes forever to balance himself (granted, he is a rather large man) and delivers a flying elbow drop! Cover, 1-2-NO! Show readies himself to KNOCK HENRY THE F OUT when Henry ducks the punch and kicks Show in the balls for the DQ. (13:04) Henry threatens to PILLMANIZE the leg again, but Show moves and KNOCKS HENRY THE F OUT. Now Show can get some payback as he PILLMANIZES Henry with a legdrop. Afterwards, he stares at Henry with an almost regrettable look on his face. Medical assistance is offered, but Henry does not want it. This might be the first time where they made Henry look a little weak. Of course, you can either look at the DQ ending as making Henry look like a coward or that he just doesn’t care because he still hold onto the world title.**½

Since ADR has his own ring announcer, CM Punk brings out one of his own: Howard Finkel. Who was the last guy to win the WWE title in MSG? The answer will be at the bottom of this match’s recap. They get a little scruffy with the headlocks to start. Feeling out leads to a try at the ANACONDA VICE, but ADR breaks loose and bails before anything can happen. Back in, Punk dropkicks Del Rio out for the elbow suicida. Back in again, the flying bodypress gets two. ADR trips Punk into the ropes which allows Rodriquez to lay hands on Punk, which you DON’T do! He gives chase after Ricardo and that’s babyface 101 as ADR goes through the ropes and dropkicks Punk down to end the chase. Back in, Del Rio cranks on the arm a bunch. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two. ADR misses a dropkick and flies through the ropes. He charges Punk and runs into a MUAY THAI KICK! Punk fights back with Mongolian chops and a swinging neckbreaker gets two. Running knee and the bulldog gets two. Springboard clothesline gets two. Time for the GTS, but Del Rio slips out and connects with the Backcracker for two. Running knee misses from Punk and Del Rio delivers the Jumping Enziguri that gets two. Punk headbutts a superplex away and calls for the Macho Elbow, but gets crotched up top. ADR misses a corner charge and eats the post. As he collapses on the mat, Punk delivers the Macho Elbow after all for 1-2-NO! Finishers are countered, but it’s the CROSS ARMBREAKER that wins. Punk fights the pain until he makes the ropes. Rodriquez gets booted off the apron and Del Rio tries to steal one with a roll up and a handful of tights for 1-2-NO! Another MUAY THAI KICK gets two, but then Punk slips on the ANACONDA VICE. Del Rio tries to fish hook Punk, but can’t quite pull it off and ends up tapping out to give Punk the WWE title. (17:16)There was drama surrounding the finishers, but not much else. I just don’t buy Alberto Del Rio as a threat and his in-ring work is not that interesting, which means in my opinion that it’s a foregone conclusion that CM Punk was the right man to go over here. Oh by the way, the answer is Big Show at Survivor Series 02. **¾

The Rock & John Cena vs. Awesome Truth

Obviously Rock gets the positive reaction, Cena gets the negative one. It doesn’t matter though because at the end of the day, both were equally as strong and that’s all that matters. Whether you paid a ticket to come and boo Cena or cheer Rock, you still bought a ticket to see WWE. The bell rings, but Rock just looks around at the crowd and soaks in the reaction. He’s one of the few who could just stand in the ring and do what he just did. Miz and Rock start us off as I’m sure someone like Miz has to be sporting some kind of a woody right now. Rock armdrags Awesome Truth all over the place and then surprises Miz with La Magistral cradle for 1-2-NO! Of course, Rock gets the “you’ve still got it” chants while Awesome Truth is all DRATS and CURSES on the floor. Rock wants Truth and here we go. Truth does all that juking and jiving only to eat a right hand. Rock hits the Fisherman’s Suplex on Truth, but Cena being in the ring knocking Miz off the apron costs them a pinfall. After they exchange words, Miz declares he wants Cena, so Rock slaps Cena’s hand away for a tag. Cena fires off a monkey flip and a dropkick to send Miz running. Tag to Truth, Cena starts up the shoulderblocks and the Protobomb to set up Five Knuckle Shuffle. Oh wait, nevermind. Instead, Cena walks over to Rock and tells him that he currently cannot see him. Rock steps into the ring and just stands there staring at Cena until Truth attacks him from behind. You better believe Cena is *your* face in peril. They hit him with everything while keeping Cena on their side of the ring. Eventually, Cena catches Truth trying a flying bodypress. Truth slips away from the AA and hits a front sitout suplex for two. Miz starts taunting Rock just serving to piss him off. STF gets applied, but Truth makes the break. Quick AA on Truth. Cena crawls over for the tag, but Miz knocks Rock off the apron while Truth runs him down over on the floor. As Rock gets riled up and enters the ring, Awesome Truth delivers a double flapjack to Cena for two. Truth “dances” a little too much before trying a legdrop and misses to set up the HOT TAG TO ROCK! DDT on Miz, lays the Smackdown on Truth, and gives him the ROCK BOTTOM. Miz charges into the Sharpshooter, but Truth makes the save with WHATS UP. Meanwhile, Cena tackles Truth to take him to the floor. Miz punches on the Rock, but then charges into a spinebuster to set up the PEOPLE’S ELBOW for the win. (21:34) It wasn’t a match that needed to be great to accomplish its intent, which was to ultimately hype WrestleMania. Not to mention it introduces all the WWE’s loyal eight year olds to the greatness of the Rock. **½

Final Thoughts: A fun show, but I wouldn’t call it great considering how everything felt like an advertisement for something better that’s going to come along. It does have some positives though like seeing the interactions between the Rock and John Cena, CM Punk regaining the WWE title from Alberto Del Rio, Beth Phoenix getting serious with that top rope Glam Slam, and the always entertaining MSG crowd. The rest was just average at best. I’ll go with a slight thumbs up for Survivor Series 2011, because it was overall pretty fun.

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